Picture Update
 

A while ago we purchased a second Percula to replace the one that dissapeared in the tank (still have no idea what happened). It is close to half the size of the first one and they have paired up well with no problems. :biggrin: Below are a few pics of the Percs. Also I added a few other pictures that I took last night.

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1359505423http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1359505421http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1359505425

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1359505424

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1359505427

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1359505428

I normally run carbon and gfo too and typically change then out once a month. However, when I did my chemi clean treatment I added an extra bag of carbon (in a media bag dropped into my sump) to help take out the meds. I replaced my carbon in my carbon reactor on day 7 after treatment and took out my extra carbon bag.

I don't have any experience running carbon in a filter sock. I personally wouldn't do that tho as my carbon would probably get lodged in my sock fibers and/or overflow into my sump if/when my sock overflowed.

Hence the "good" part of the statement

Congrats! lovely and healthy

Thanks Kien - this makes sense to me. I appreciate the advice.

Thank you very much. I still have a rather emty tank and this is just a beginning (a slow beginning). Nothing that more $$ wouldn't solve. LOL :lol:

It looks like it is way past time for an update . . . but not a lot has been happening. I have added a few mushrooms though.

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8428d3bd.jpg

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...psb6515e68.jpg

And a few additional recent pictures . . .

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7586a080.jpg

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0b58c19a.jpg

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7d67e5c9.jpg

Your pictures are so nice.. what camera are you using?

Thank you very much for the compliment. One of my hobbies for years has been nature photography and marine shots are an extension of that - and I have a huge amount to learn yet about taking photos through glass!

About 15 months ago I bought myself a Sony a65. The reviews http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonyslta65/ on this camera were very good and I have not been dissapointed :biggrin:. I upgraded the stock lens that came with the camera to an 18-250mm lens for a larger range of possible shots. What drew me to the camera was:
1) the very quick auto focus time - action pictures are much better
2) the ability to take 10 frames/sec - allowing me to get the "perfect" shot of a duck taking off or landing
3) the ability to takes pictures at high ISO - up to 16,000
4) the image size of up to 24MP

What I've found for the tank is that I can take a picture with an image size of 24MP and the lens at 18mm. I am able to take pictures from about 18" from the tank, letting more light in, a lower ISO and I don't have to go to a macro lens or macro settings. I can then crop the image significantly and still have a good sized photo without losing clarity.

Overall, I am very happy with the camera.

http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4926392841798112&pid=1.7

Looking good! And nice camera!